Octopus Overlords

Posted: **Mon Jan 08, 2018 11:45 am**

Jeff V wrote: ↑Thu Jan 04, 2018 11:40 am
Jaymann wrote: ↑Wed Jan 03, 2018 8:06 pm I have been fighting off a cold (started with possible strep throat) for the last week. Today I lost my voice.
Oh, so you're just getting started! Welcome to the growing club.

I'm more than 2 months into this. Still hacking up my lungs several times per day, and they seem to regenerate overnight, which is good I guess. Lots of sinus congestion. Kids manage to ooze twice their body weight in snot each and every day. The other night, my 4 year old started yelling at his cough because it was keeping him up hours on end. My wife is getting despondent...she wants to switch to overnight shift and remove the 4 year old from school (permanently) in an attempt to get him, and possibly the rest of us since he's the suspected disease vector, better. My wife and I have been suffering sinus headaches, and this plague has caused each of us to miss a couple of days of work over the past 2 months. About 6 weeks ago, she took the kids to the doctor and is doing so again on Monday. These being cold symptoms (lack of fever suggestions we're not suffering any systemic infections), there's not a lot he can do about it. Last time he suggested OTC allergy meds but that had no effect. It's unlikely all 4 of us would suddenly be allergic to the same thing anyway.

This may seem like an odd question- is it possible you all are allergic to your house? Perhaps a mold or something else that is impacting you all? I say this because I once dated a woman who had a house that every time I went there my eyes would get red and scratchy and if I stayed there overnight I basically felt like I had the flu. The clue was that it went away after I left within an hour but I could imagine that if I lived there it would have hammered me into the ground.

Posted: **Mon Jan 08, 2018 12:19 pm**

I don't think that's an odd question at all, if all of them are having the same problem for such an extended period of time.

Posted: **Mon Jan 08, 2018 2:06 pm**

The house is 5 years old and underwent an inspection when we bought it over the summer. No indication of mold was found.

I get no respite out of the house either, I'm just as miserable in my office.

Posted: **Mon Jan 08, 2018 3:13 pm**

might be worth checking since you are all be affected and for an extended period. Mold or some other irritant doesn't take all that long to flourish once it starts.

Posted: **Mon Jan 08, 2018 3:40 pm**

I still think the problem is with my little disease vectors, especially the 4 year old who spends 3 days a week /10 hours per day in preschool.

Posted: **Mon Jan 08, 2018 3:53 pm**

Children are remarkable carriers of illness. They have no concept of cleanliness and freely swap mucus as a matter of standard practice. It does seem to get better as the kids get older, but for the first year that each child mingled with other children, we seemed perpetually sick.

It gets more fun when the school sends out flu alerts, or better yet, lice alerts.

Hell, this winter the school "gave" our 6 year old a hat out of lost and found when he misplaced his. The result was a nice dance with headlice a week later. F#&#. At least when the flu is done with you, you don't need to scour the house, launder everything, and spend weeks checking heads for recurrences.

After the second time it happened, I was tempted to shave our kids' head and call it done. Apparently some little gremlin's parents couldn't figure out how to fix the problem and kept sending them to school to contaminate the other kids over and over.

Posted: **Mon Jan 08, 2018 4:46 pm**

Fortunately, my son kind of digs what we call "the Shaolin look."

Posted: **Mon Jan 08, 2018 5:16 pm**

Wife came down with my or similar illness on Friday night. Reports from home today are that the MIL picked up a stomach bug.

And my coworkers can attest today that I'm still a little punchy.

Posted: **Fri Jan 11, 2019 8:38 am**

WARNING: Virus detected

Posted: **Fri Jan 11, 2019 8:53 am**

I hope you're okay - and not trapped on a cruise ship.

Posted: **Fri Jan 11, 2019 9:18 am**

It's my turn for the cough and congestion that's making the rounds. Just in time for a business trip to Orlando. Ugh.

Posted: **Fri Jan 11, 2019 9:28 am**

I've been down since Christmas, though still working. Ugh. Got on the Z Pack and Steroids on Tuesday. Last night was the first night I wasn't coughing and choking all night while laying down in a couple of weeks and my voice came back yesterday. I usually try and tough out colds but this one happened coincidentally with a doctor visit who took one list to my lungs and said nope. Take these and come back in a week for a blood draw and a flew shot.

Luck to the rest of you.

Posted: **Fri Jan 11, 2019 10:53 am**

Wife stayed home sick last night, and I had to WFH in the afternoon to let her rest. Thought it was the flu, but today she is complaining of tonsillitis and sore throat. I gave her Chloraseptic and she complained it tasted bad. Still probably flu...she works in healthcare and somehow avoided getting a flu shot.

Posted: **Wed Jan 25, 2023 4:29 am**

Sore throat started last evening, and getting worse through the night. Was supposed to go into the office for meetings today, but that’s not going to happen.

Posted: **Wed Jan 25, 2023 2:46 pm**

Was driving the 6YO to school to day. He said the snow looked like "the powder they put down when you throw up." I asked him how he knew, he said 5 kids threw up in school yesterday. Nothing got sent home.

At the 12YOs school, they're on remote optional again this week with so many cases of COVID. Oh, and her locker-mate had lice. Which honestly felt like, "thank goodness, something normal for once..."

Posted: **Thu Jan 26, 2023 9:19 pm**

We've received approximately no Covid notifications this school year. Our school district has been open for in-person classes since fall 2020, but they've always been good at notifications. My daughter once had to get daily testing because she was identified as a close contact to a positive (she remains the only one in our family never to have it).

They are vaccinated and boosted, so I'm not especially concerned. Still, I think I'd appreciate more vigilance.

Posted: **Sun Feb 26, 2023 10:24 pm**

There's been much hacking and coughing at Chez Kraken for the past week, ever since Wife got back from a week in Florida. Riding in an airplane, twice, without wearing a mask -- who could've foreseen this? But her brother and his wife are also both sick, so she probably got it from or gave it to them.

Our doctor -- whom she saw on his first day on the job, our previous doc having fled -- ruled out covid and the flu, and finally settled on pneumonia for her. She just started antibiotics. I've taken two negative covid home tests and don't have a fever. I have some stomach upset -- lunch sends me running for the toilet every day -- so it could be flu, despite my lack of fever. I just feel miserable by almost every measure. At the moment I'm at equilibrium thanks to a cocktail of OTC remedies.

If this doesn't break in the next two days I'm going to go see New Doc myself. We're facing a possible snowstorm on Tuesday that I can't cope with in this condition.

Her bro and his wife have never taken a covid test and aren't about to start now.

Posted: **Sun Feb 26, 2023 11:00 pm**

Hope you're both feeling better soon.

Even fewer seem to be masking around here now. I wish food service workers would at least. Like, as a standard now until the end of time.

I haven't bothered masking much since finally getting COVID last month, but again I spend most of my time at home. I've picked up a cough this past week though... have been worried I contracted a different strain or something else.

Was tested at my grandmother's care facility today though, and I was negative. But I noticed they barely rubbed around inside my cheeks and only swabbed around the entrance of my nostrils this time They used to be a lot more conscientious. Perhaps the testing standards have changed? Seems unlikely.

We're seeing free home test kits being offered at the front of Walmarts again though, after a long absence. That's good at least, for those of us who still care.

Posted: **Mon Feb 27, 2023 8:57 am**

Thursday night I went to bed feeling a little odd. Friday morning I woke up feeling wiped out with fever and muscle aches like I'd been moving heavy boxes up and down stairs all do (except I hadn't done that on Thursday!). Did the usual fluids and sleeping on and off all day. Sat had less fever but was similar. Yesterday I actually felt fairly decent but was still running a fever. Lots of runny nose and just a little coughing. Now Monday morning and I'm feeling good but it is hitting my wife harder than it hit me.

I don't know what it says that I didn't test for Covid. I'm vaccinated and boosted. I have a flue shot. I'll happily mask back up for a while to protect others since I have been sick and don't really know how long I might be capable of spreading it. I guess I've stopped considering Covid to be that special as a disease. On the other hand I am interested to note that my wife did a test this morning but was negative so it is unlikely I had Covid.

Posted: **Thu Mar 02, 2023 2:26 pm**

Still sick, so I'm going to meet the new doctor this after. It takes a lot to make me overcome my aversion to doctors, but day after day I'm just not getting any better. Maybe he will give me antibiotics and maybe they will work. Just took another negative covid test...I am sick and tired of being tired and sick.

Posted: **Thu Mar 02, 2023 2:57 pm**

Kraken wrote: ↑Thu Mar 02, 2023 2:26 pm Still sick, so I'm going to meet the new doctor this after. It takes a lot to make me overcome my aversion to doctors, but day after day I'm just not getting any better. Maybe he will give me antibiotics and maybe they will work. Just took another negative covid test...I am sick and tired of being tired and sick.

We had something nasty go through our house a few weeks ago. Not covid, but lots of covid like symptoms. I had to get antibiotics to get over it, and my wife and kids, and my mother who lives with us just powered through and got over it. I liked getting the antibiotics, as I got better faster than all them.

Even did telehealth, so didn't even go into and see a doctor, just talked to him on my computer.

Posted: **Thu Mar 02, 2023 3:50 pm**

RMC wrote: ↑Thu Mar 02, 2023 2:57 pm
Kraken wrote: ↑Thu Mar 02, 2023 2:26 pm Still sick, so I'm going to meet the new doctor this after. It takes a lot to make me overcome my aversion to doctors, but day after day I'm just not getting any better. Maybe he will give me antibiotics and maybe they will work. Just took another negative covid test...I am sick and tired of being tired and sick.
We had something nasty go through our house a few weeks ago. Not covid, but lots of covid like symptoms. I had to get antibiotics to get over it, and my wife and kids, and my mother who lives with us just powered through and got over it. I liked getting the antibiotics, as I got better faster than all them.

Even did telehealth, so didn't even go into and see a doctor, just talked to him on my computer.

I tried that...but it turned out to be a hoax. There's absolutely no medical science behind making people wear chaps and a jean vest for a prostrate exam. Also, prostrate exams aren't traditionally performed for a sore throat.

Posted: **Thu Mar 02, 2023 4:50 pm**

RMC wrote: ↑Thu Mar 02, 2023 2:57 pm
Kraken wrote: ↑Thu Mar 02, 2023 2:26 pm Still sick, so I'm going to meet the new doctor this after. It takes a lot to make me overcome my aversion to doctors, but day after day I'm just not getting any better. Maybe he will give me antibiotics and maybe they will work. Just took another negative covid test...I am sick and tired of being tired and sick.
We had something nasty go through our house a few weeks ago. Not covid, but lots of covid like symptoms. I had to get antibiotics to get over it, and my wife and kids, and my mother who lives with us just powered through and got over it. I liked getting the antibiotics, as I got better faster than all them.

Even did telehealth, so didn't even go into and see a doctor, just talked to him on my computer.

Antibiotics are the last resort. I don't want to nuke my microbiome, for one thing, and of course there are all the issues with resistance and overprescription. He advised more wait-and-seeing and we'll resort to anti bees if I'm still unimproved on Monday. Meanwhile, he prescribed me an albuterol inhaler to blast my lungs open so I can sleep. Also, I'm to pop 3 ibuprofens 3x daily -- it's the next best thing to steroids for inflammation.

I tested negative for flu, so that's nice. He said it could be "atypical walking pneumonia" but I think he was just stringing words together at that point.

Posted: **Thu Mar 02, 2023 9:58 pm**

Kraken wrote: ↑Thu Mar 02, 2023 4:50 pm I tested negative for flu, so that's nice. He said it could be "atypical walking pneumonia" but I think he was just stringing words together at that point.

Go for a run in the morning just to be sure.

Posted: **Thu Mar 02, 2023 10:28 pm**

Kraken wrote: ↑Thu Mar 02, 2023 4:50 pm I tested negative for flu, so that's nice. He said it could be "atypical walking pneumonia" but I think he was just stringing words together at that point.

I have a friend that had something that sounds similar. He was sick for 3 weeks. Tested negative for flu, strep and COVID and the doctor eventually just shrugged. He was mentally and physically exhausted and having insane dreams. He was feeling better after a week and then it came back with a vengeance. I would have bet money it was COVID but he had a PCR and it it was negative. No idea what's going around - not sure if it's still RSV or parainfluenza, but I say no thank you.

Antibiotics are the last resort. your microbiome doesn't want you to nuke it I don't want to nuke my microbiome

Fixed that for you.

Posted: **Thu Mar 02, 2023 10:47 pm**

I always consult my microbuddies on decisions like this. Wife is prone to lung infections and gets one or more courses of aunty-bees every year, but I haven't needed them in many years and won't go there unless they're clearly indicated.

Everyone I know (which isn't a large set) has, or has had, respiratory infections this winter.

Posted: **Thu Mar 16, 2023 2:18 am**

I finally shook this after >2 weeks. It was the sickest I've been for the longest time in I don't know when, much worse than either of my covid infections. For a while there it was a tossup between my immune system and the not-flu/not-covid, and for a day or two my money was on the pathogen.

Octopus Overlords

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